Jonathan Papelbon - Bryce Harper Dugout Altercation

[yfinn6]

Papelbon got into a fight with Bryce Harper in the Nats' dugout today. Pap was chiding Harper for not running out a popup (Harper isn't new to this act) and then Harper took exception to Pap calling him out, and Pap lunged at Harper and started choking him. It was ugly. Things are a mess in Washington.

[jerichoholicninja]

What's sad is that Harper is going to come out looking bad from that. Yes, he should have run it out and probably should have just ignored Papelbon but Harper is probably going to be blamed for it. And then Papelbon smiles like a smug jackass after the whole thing.

[DuWayne Steurer]

What's sad is that Harper is going to come out looking bad from that. Yes, he should have run it out and probably should have just ignored Papelbon but Harper is probably going to be blamed for it. And then Papelbon smiles like a smug jackass after the whole thing.

 

 

Harper won't come out looking bad from that because every single person who knows a thing about baseball knows that Papelbon is a douche.

[jerichoholicninja]

What's sad is that Harper is going to come out looking bad from that. Yes, he should have run it out and probably should have just ignored Papelbon but Harper is probably going to be blamed for it. And then Papelbon smiles like a smug jackass after the whole thing.

 

 

Harper won't come out looking bad from that because every single person who knows a thing about baseball knows that Papelbon is a douche.

 

That's my point. That's not news. News is that that Harper kid mouthed off to a veteran in the dugout.

[trwi7]

Did this team dodge a bullet on the Papelbon trade in the offseason or what? I'm not a fan of our current closer either for obvious reasons but at least we only paid money for him instead of using prospects to get him.

 

If I was the Nationals, I would strongly consider just outright releasing Papelbon.

[WV Brew]

Harper has been criticized in Washington for being reckless in the past when he has run into walls, etc. Now he is getting it the other way. Don't know why someone like Papplebon, who is a late season addition to the Nats, would even get involved. That's a job for Williams but the "Williams has lost the team" stories are now coming hot and heavy.

 

[WV Brew]

Backstory on Pappelbon-Harper from Thomas Boswell article in the Washington Post:

 

On Wednesday, Papelbon threw at Baltimore’s Manny Machado twice, both times near his head, the second hitting him in the shoulder. Papelbon was ejected and subsequently suspended for three days pending an appeal. Harper’s comment then: “It’s tired. Now they’ll probably hit me tomorrow.” The Nationals’ consensus was that Papelbon was out of line. But the fuse had been lit to a tinderbox player.

 

So it looks like Pap's revenge on Harper for calling him out. You can throw Machado in there as another jerk in the DC area though.

[WV Brew]

Matt Williams: leadership

 

 

 

Follow

Andrew Simon @AndrewSimonMLB

 

Full exchange between a reporter and Williams regarding Papelbon pitching the 9th.

5:37 PM - 27 Sep 2015

[jerichoholicninja]

Matt Williams: leadership

 

 

 

Follow

Andrew Simon @AndrewSimonMLB

 

Full exchange between a reporter and Williams regarding Papelbon pitching the 9th.

5:37 PM - 27 Sep 2015

 

Apparently, Williams didn't even know that happened until after the game. I don't know what's worse: keeping him in the game knowing what happened, not knowing it even happened, or lying about not knowing it happened to save face.

[Lee16]

Wow, how many times can the Nationals choke in one season?

[jerichoholicninja]

What's sad is that Harper is going to come out looking bad from that. Yes, he should have run it out and probably should have just ignored Papelbon but Harper is probably going to be blamed for it. And then Papelbon smiles like a smug jackass after the whole thing.

 

 

Harper won't come out looking bad from that because every single person who knows a thing about baseball knows that Papelbon is a douche.

 

The comments are the MLBTradeRumors website story about this is about 50/50 blaming Harper and Papelbon. I'm sure most of that is from the general hate that Harper gets that I don't understand.

[tmwiese55]

I see no way Harper is in the wrong here. People are going to say he should have ran it out blah blah. That is simply nitpicking and hating on him since he has always had an arrogant reputation. Watch any MLB game and jogging out a routine fly ball is completely commonplace, especially in the last week of the season and your team is out of it. The kid can't win, he runs himself into a wall over and over and he gets ripped for being stupid and playing too hard. He jogs out a routine fly ball and he gets ripped for not playing hard enough. This all comes from Papelbon being bitter about Harper not liking when he intentionally hit Machado, which Harper was 100% correct about.

[pacopete4]

Harper should have ran out the ball but he's not in the wrong here. If Papelbon had the issue about it, bring him aside in private and discuss this. Be a veteran that helps a young guy along. Not a veteran that no one wants around.

[tmwiese55]

It is completely common for players to not run out routine fly balls and even routine grounders. They jog it all the time, Harper shouldn't be held to a different standard than everyone else.

[rwa12]

Reading an article yesterday, the Nationals players are behind Papelbon on this one. The problem with Harper's comments were that they were made to the media, rather than in house. Harper has been benched in the past for not hustling, so Papelbon took a shot at him. The media backs Harper, the players back Papelbon. Not surprising given Pap's media rep. I could see both of those guys rubbing people the wrong way. With the way the Nats' season imploded, this was pretty tame. I'm sure tempers and frustration are high.

[pacopete4]

It is completely common for players to not run out routine fly balls and even routine grounders. They jog it all the time, Harper shouldn't be held to a different standard than everyone else.

 

I don't hold him to a higher standard. This is a standard for any ball player in any ball park, anywhere. Play the game hard. It's that simple. He shouldn't of been choked out over it but he SHOULD be held to the standard of playing the game hard.

[tmwiese55]

The fact that he's being called out at all for not running out a fly ball is holding him to a higher standard. This happens on almost every routine fly ball. It is the rule, not the exception. Sure it's fair to say they should do it, but no one does. I don't mean you specifically, but by Papelbon or by anyone in the media. When Jayson Werth or whoever else flew out two innings earlier why wasn't it a story?

[jerichoholicninja]

I'm mobile so I won't post links bit CJ Nitkowski posted a pretty crappy column defending Papelbom citing former players who all agree with him. He's taking a beating on Twitter (from me too) and basically telling tweeters to stop being babies and they've never played the game so they wouldn't understand. what a joke.

[Brewser5]

I'm mobile so I won't post links bit CJ Nitkowski posted a pretty crappy column defending Papelbom citing former players who all agree with him. He's taking a beating on Twitter (from me too) and basically telling tweeters to stop being babies and they've never played the game so they wouldn't understand. what a joke.

 

I know Pap is a complete tool, but he has been around for a while. I don't think he is the only one that feels that way in the Nats clubhouse about Harper. He is just the one that won't put up with it.

 

Now do I agree with how Pap handled it, absolutely not, but I am sure there is more going on in that clubhouse than anyone knows.

[1992casey]

I am sure there is more going on in that clubhouse than anyone knows.

 

And that's as it should be. The hit batsman issue should have never become public. And likewise, the issue of whether Harper should have run harder should have remained in the clubhouse.

[I Heart Brewers]

Matt Williams: leadership

 

 

 

Follow

Andrew Simon @AndrewSimonMLB

 

Full exchange between a reporter and Williams regarding Papelbon pitching the 9th.

5:37 PM - 27 Sep 2015

 

Why can't he just admit he made a mistake? Either take responsibility for not knowing what happened (you should) or say you made a mistake sending him out there. Now all this does is open you up to more criticism. The ego's of these guys are amazing.

[LouisEly]

There's a difference between "running out" a play and "running all out". Of course no one runs "all out" on every play; you can't survive a 162 game season doing that. You have to pick your spots.

 

"Running out" a play means making it to 1B even if you're out by a few steps. You're running about 60% full speed but in the event that there is an error you still have a chance to be safe. Not "running out" a play means that you quit before getting anywhere near 1B, and my understanding is that's what Harper did.

 

Papelbon is a jerk, and I'm not saying he is right for what he did. But I'm curious, for those who think Papelbon is in the wrong, how did you feel about Fielder going after Manny Parra in the dugout?

[trwi7]

Not "running out" a play means that you quit before getting anywhere near 1B, and my understanding is that's what Harper did.

 

You obviously can't tell from this but even if Francoeur drops the ball or loses the ball in the lights or whatever, is there any chance Harper even makes it to 2nd base anyways, even if he's going 100%? I don't think there is, the ball wasn't in the air close to long enough for that to happen. So if Francoeur drops it, he's on 1st no matter how hard he's running.

 

It's a pick your battles kind of thing. Even if Papelbon was right that Harper doesn't run hard (and media members have been digging on this and they say he does run hard, or at least as hard as any other player), pick your battle on when to call him on it. Like a slow ground ball that a guy with his speed could easily beat out but he's running half-assed down the line.

 

http://m.nationals.mlb.com/wsh/video/v505505983/phiwsh-harper-papelbon-separated-after-dispute/?query=bryce+harper

 

Papelbon is a jerk, and I'm not saying he is right for what he did. But I'm curious, for those who think Papelbon is in the wrong, how did you feel about Fielder going after Manny Parra in the dugout?

 

Fielder was a complete ass for doing that to Parra.

[danzig6767]

Backstory on Pappelbon-Harper from Thomas Boswell article in the Washington Post:

 

On Wednesday, Papelbon threw at Baltimore’s Manny Machado twice, both times near his head, the second hitting him in the shoulder. Papelbon was ejected and subsequently suspended for three days pending an appeal. Harper’s comment then: “It’s tired. Now they’ll probably hit me tomorrow.” The Nationals’ consensus was that Papelbon was out of line. But the fuse had been lit to a tinderbox player.

 

So it looks like Pap's revenge on Harper for calling him out. You can throw Machado in there as another jerk in the DC area though.

I was so proud of Harper when he basically called out Papelbon after he did that pathetic throwing at Machado who did nothing which was deserving of being thrown at, much less a 90mph pitch high near the head.

 

I just wish way more players showed the same courage as Harper did in calling out this ridiculous practice in baseball of throwing at hitters over silly perceived slights. Nothing in baseball annoys me more than all of these socalled unwritten rules which certain managers and players feel gives them the right to have a pitcher fire a baseball at a batter, and sometimes not even the batter who did the perceived slight.

 

It would be awesome if one time when a hitter charged the mound after being hit on purpose, he ended up knocking the pitcher flat out cold. Maybe then baseball would start taking this nonsense more seriously. It's crazy to me that baseball continues to punish so lightly a dangerous act where a batter potentially could be seriously injured over nothing more than a perceived slight.

[tmwiese55]

Agree 100% with Danzig. And that is what this is about, not him jogging out a ball. Harper was 100% correct on the HBP thing and more people should start saying this so it stops. Just like Maddon said something a few weeks ago about the Cardinals. Papelbon being the jerk he is made a fuss over nothing in retaliation and now people are acting like Harper is in the wrong. Harper didn't do anything that isn't common throughout baseball, especially in the last week when your team is out of it, but since he's young and outspoken everyone wants to bring him down a notch. It's people just being haters. No one here would accuse Carlos Gomez of not playing hard would they? When he hits a fly ball he'll angrily toss his bat and slowly jog to first with his head down. One time this year the ball carried and hit the wall and I think he only got a single or at least made it a very close play at 2nd on a ball that would've been a triple if he ran. Fans can say all they want to run it out every time but the reality is it just doesn't happen.